Crossing lines

Ten Americans from two Baptist churches in Idaho face charges of child kidnapping and criminal association in Haiti, one week after the group attempted to enter the Dominican Republic with 33 Haitian children they described as orphans. After the court hearing in Port-au-Prince on Thursday, officials shuttled the Americans to a jail in the capital.

Haitian authorities said the Americans didn't have the proper documents when they tried to cross the border last Friday, and that many of the children, ages 2 to 12, aren't orphans. The Americans said they were trying to provide care for children orphaned or abandoned after the Jan. 12 earthquake. Laura Silsby, the group's leader, said she didn't know that many of the children had living parents. She told reporters last week: "Our hearts were in the right place." But evidence mounted that their legal standing was never as secure.

Steve Hersey, director of Quisqueya Christian School (QCS) in Port-au-Prince, said Silsby's group approached the QCS gate the night before they attempted to cross the border, looking for ways to get out of Haiti. Hersey said he refused to help, and warned the group that their plan was "unconscionable."

Hersey added that he urged the Americans to not move the children and advised them to connect with reputable organizations that have experience dealing with displaced children. "It was clear they had little understanding of Haiti law and customs," Hersey said in an email on Thursday.

Carlos Castillo, the Dominican consul general in Port-au-Prince, said on Wednesday that he also warned Silsby's group to desist: "I warned her, I said as soon as you get there without the proper documents you are going to get in trouble."

Several residents of Calebasse, a devastated village outside Port-au-Prince, said they voluntarily gave their children to the group for the promise of a better life after the quake. Those reports conflicted with earlier statements by Silsby that some children came from distant relatives and some from a collapsed orphanage.

The Americans, members of a group called New Life Children's Refuge, said they planned to establish an orphanage for children in the Dominican Republic. CNN reported that the group has no experience running an orphanage, and that the group's headquarters are listed as Silsby's now-foreclosed home.

Silsby acknowledged on Thursday that the group hadn't sought permission from Haitian authorities, but insisted they were only trying to help. Edwin Coq, the group's attorney, said Haiti's legal system doesn't call for an open trial, but a judge would consider the evidence and could render a decision within three months.

For now, workers at the Austrian-run SOS Children's Village are caring for the children in Port-au-Prince.

Related coverage:

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